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Drills Report – Advanced Wide Receiver Drills, Part II

by: Larry Edmondson
Quarterbacks Coach and Passing Game Coordinator, Rice University
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Last month’s drills for wide receivers included five different drills intended to make players concentrate on catching the ball and improve their route running. The six drills included this month are more detailed with an emphasis on proper technique (In each drill, ‘C’ refers to coach and ‘R’ for receiver).

Chute DRILL
 (Diagram 1)


Diagram 1: Chute Drill

Perform curl route through the chute.
1. CB route through the chute.
2. Dig Route through the chute.

Points of emphasis: This is a great drill to get receivers to bend over and plant their foot at the top of the route. If they don’t, they will hit the chute. Make sure the receivers are turning the plant foot and pushing off to explode out of the cut.

Note:  This is a single OL chute that you can order or have your school shop classes make. It’s a great tool to emphasize the bend at the top of the route. We put the front of the chute five yards from the receivers. We are only running the top part of the route.

WEAVE DRILL
(Diagram 2)


Diagram 2: Weave Drill

1. Weave left using rip technique. Then weave right using rip technique. WR runs a curl route off the cone.

2. Weave left using swipe technique. Then weave right using swipe technique and, again, run a curl route off the cone.

3. Repeat both drills going right to left.

Points of emphasis: Receiver must use the technique on near side of the dummy and get back in their running lane. Do not squat at the dummy but keep moving. This drill is for avoiding downfield defenders in zone drops. Our “rip”  technique is a dig of the near shoulder. Our “swipe” technique is a quick downward motion by the near arm and hand to keep the defender from getting his hands on us.

Note: We use weighted pop-up dummies with arms on them. Regular dummies do not work as well because you want the WR to put something on the dummy so they get used to the feel of the contact. You can also use these to work on releases.


BLOCKING DRILL
(Diagram 3)


Diagram 3: Blocking Drill

1. Position to the fit - Receiver comes off the ball and reads the defender and positions himself to the fit, keeping shoulders square. Make sure receivers work the right and left side. Receiver stays square to the line of scrimmage.
   
2. Shuffle after the fit - Receiver places hands on defenders chest and bends his knees. When the whistle blows, the receiver and defender shuffle back and forth. The receiver must move his feet and maintain his square position. You can have both sides going at the same time.

Points of emphasis:  On the “position to fit” drill, the receiver must come off the ball at full speed until he sees the defender put his jab step in the ground. When he sees that happen, he must run under control and slide to his fit keeping his pads square. He must keep square so the back can go either way off the block.

On the “shuffle”  drill, the receiver must grab inside with his hands and bend his knees. He must not lean. If he feels pressure in the upper part of his legs, then he is leaning and will get off balance. He must feel pressure in his calves. When the whistle blows, the WR shuffles back and forth. It’s a basketball drill. If one foot moves, the other foot must move. Keep both feet under armpits.

 
YARDS-AFTER-CATCH DRILL
 (Diagram 4)

Diagram 4: Yard-After-Catch Drill

The quick game “YAC”drill – Receiver must catch the ball and turn upfield and avoid the defender. Work the drill on the left side and the right side. Use your quick game routes. We use hitches, slants, and outs.

Points of Emphasis: The receiver must catch the ball first. There is a tendency to get anxious and run before the catch. Once the ball is caught, the receiver must get his pads square and attack the defender as fast as he can. They must get to the defender before they make their move. No dancing. Use one cut and go. Be ready to use the off hand to stiff arm the defender. The WR should keep his hand open so he doesn’t get a face mask penalty.

HIGH POINT DRILL
(Diagram 5)


Diagram 5: High Point Drill


High point the ball - Throw the ball with arc and a little short. Receiver must come back and high point the ball. The receiver playing the defender must stay slightly behind the receiver catching the ball. The defender jumps up to distract the receiver, but allows him to catch the ball.

Points of Emphasis:  Receiver must judge the flight of the ball and time his jump. Once the ball is caught, emphasize to the receiver that he must tuck the ball away from the defender.

WRONG SHOULDER DRILL
(Diagram 6)


Diagram 6: Wrong Shoulder Drill

1. Left shoulder – Receiver runs down a line and looks over his left shoulder and fades to the ball.  Coach throws the ball over the outside shoulder so the receiver has to fade to the ball.

2. Right shoulder – Same drill as above, but look over the right shoulder.

Points of Emphasis:  WR must look high over the shoulder to find the flight of the ball. Tell the receiver he must adjust to get the ball to drop over his face mask. When catching the ball the receiver must keep his hands high. The lower their hands, the more the ball goes away from them because of the arc of the throw. The receiver should only turn his neck and not his upper body. Turning upper body will slow the receiver down.

Note:  Stand directly behind the WR to make this drill a little harder.


About the Author: Larry Edmondson enters his fifth year this fall on the Rice staff and his third as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. 2013 marks Edmondson’s 25th year as a college coach including 14 years of coaching wide receivers. He has coached at SMU, Auburn, Mississippi State, LSU, Southern Mississippi and Louisiana-Lafayette. A 1983 graduate of Texas A & M, Edmondson began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Aggies.






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